Colorado Weather in May?

[OkieRider1255]

Me and the wife are planning a trip to Colorado in late May. I'll be flying her to Denver and picking her up from there. We'll be going to the Rocky Mtn National Park and spending the next week riding home to Oklahoma City.

Are we going to early? Hows the weather in the upper elevations in late May?

 

[typ0]

It should be beautiful, but you never know. Even if its not so good higher up there are lots of good riding roads at the lower elevations. :drinks:

 

[OkieRider1255]

If anyone in the area can give some input on nice roads from Rocky Mountain National Park heading south/southwest towards the four corner area I would appreciate it...

 

[joeR6]

Did a rky mtn 7 day tour the first week of June a few years ago. Weather could be hit or miss. It was about 70 degrees in denver, however went to the top of Estes Park and it was snowing, interesting on two wheels. Bring your heated gear! A good rule of thumb-for every 1000ft rise in elevation the temp will drop 3 degrees. SW Colorado is awesome! Absolutely beautiful. Telluride and mesa verde nat'l park should be free of snow so stay towards the southern part of the state would be my 2 cents.

 

[Stickman]

May in the lower elevations (like Denver) will be mostly ok, temps in the 60-70's. At alitudes, above 7000', it could be cool, even during the day. May is also a very fickle month, we had a serious snowstorm a couple years back about mid-month. Afternoon thunderstorms are also close to their annual peak and are usually brewing by about 3 pm. Trail Ridge Road, which passes through Rocky Mountain National Park, is usually open by mid-May but the snow banks will dwarf the FJR. The southern half of the state is definitely warmer, however around, or in, the San Juan Mountains (Telluride, Ouray,Ridgeway) snow will still be present and the afternoon boomers will be common. Along the western border with Utah the weather will be much more consistent,and offers a refuge should the weather turn cold or white. By all means, expect cool, NOT hot temps. Snow above 9000' (which is alot of the mountains!!) is not uncommon til June. In fact, very few mountain passes are below that elevation.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Are we going to early? Hows the weather in the upper elevations in late May?

Maybe (probably)?

Last year I rode my FJR through Leadville CO the 3rd week in August -- snow everywhere you looked, some snow on the road, tracks through the snow over Fremont Pass (11,000+ feet).

Yet, on another occasion, many years ago, S.O. and I were on our way back from Laguna Seca (GP races) in April and riding U.S. 50 (could've been a foolish choice...) -- Monarch Pass was clear yet there were huge snow piles at the pull-out at the summit. So..., it is/can be possible.

I would try to disabuse you of the desire to ride Rocky Mtn, Natl. Park and Trail Ridge Road at that time of year.

Be very cognizant of your altitude and the altiudes at which you plan to ride. Check the weather, too -- truck stops often are advising truckers (chain-up alerts).

With a riding companion (2-up), a warm, pleasurable experience always seems the goal (I think?) -- unless she's really adventurous/fearless? I think you'll be able to 'noodle around' southern/south-central Colorado in May staying clear of high passes -- just be careful if you plan to cross The Great Divide (The High Country).

 

[old&slow]

I rode thru Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park in Mid June of 2003 ,,,, Weather was nice,,,

but it got kind of cold in the mountains and there was still snow on the ground in places..

Rode thru Colorado again in late May of 2004 on I-70 ,,

about froze my butt off from Grand Junction to Denver.

Snow on the ground in Vail ,,, started to warm up east of Denver..

 

[typ0]

While anything is possible it will be very nice. Keep in mind to, even if we do get snow, the next day will probably be in the 70's at least. More that likely any snow will melt very fast.

In my opinion, the end of May is the choice time. The thunderstorms aren't as frequent as they are later in the summer and schools aren't out yet so the traffic isn't as bad yet either. I hate the RV trains that we get on the weekends in the summer. I always plan my trips to minimize that possibility as much as possible. On my FZ6 I used to see how many I could pass at once but I gave that up with the FJR.

:bike: